


Date Night

by thesalukihusker



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-26 04:53:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20736530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesalukihusker/pseuds/thesalukihusker
Summary: Joyce plans a surprise for Jonathan and Nancy.





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> set end of season 2. Joyce and Nancy surprise Jonathan, and spend some time talking about one of their favorite people. Lots of fluff. I don't own Jancy, I just ship them.

It's already dark when Nancy arrives at the Byers house just before 7.

She and Jonathan were planning to go out after he got off work. Jonathan was thrilled that he got a  _ first _ date with Nancy Wheeler; having a second one seems almost like a dream. 

But then he ended up having to work a double. Jonathan was disappointed.  _ I had plans to take you somewhere special,  _ he told Nancy. She always tells him it doesn't matter where they go, or what they do. She just wants to be with him. 

Nancy is thrilled when Joyce calls with a plan for them to still have a date night. And now she's here, on the Byers' front porch, and she's a little nervous. 

Joyce ushers her in to the house -  _ it's cold, Nancy!  _ \- and takes Nancy's coat. Then she pulls Nancy in for a hug. "Thank you for being there for us, for my boys."

###

Joyce has set the dining room table for two. There's pasta boiling on the stove, and bread warming in the oven.  _ She's set the house up for a date night. _ Nancy is sitting at the table, sipping a glass of iced tea, and watching Joyce get things prepared in the kitchen. "You didn't have to do all of this, Mrs. Byers." "Joyce - and I wanted to," she tells Nancy, moving to sit across the table from her. 

The morning after his first date with Nancy, Jonathan told Joyce about the trip to Illinois. He left out a few details, of course, but most of it was there:  _ we went to get justice for what the Lab has done. I finally told her how I feel about her. And she feels the same way about me! _ Joyce was surprised that Jonathan had actually talked about his feelings, but she knew he had more than just a crush on Nancy. When Joyce would try to talk to Jonathan about it, he'd blush and look away. She's elated that he finally opened up.

Joyce pauses for a second, thinking carefully about what she wants to say next. "For so long, Jonathan has closed himself off from the world. He hasn't thought about himself or his own happiness." Nancy nods for Joyce to go on. She knows the horrible things that Jonathan has been through, what it's done to him.

"He grew up fast and has taken on so much. I told him last year, and I've told him so many times - you think you're all alone in the world, but you're not." Nancy's mind goes to the night she and Jonathan took their trip to the woods.  _ I don't like most people,  _ he told her. 

"I want you to understand, Nancy," Joyce tells her, "I've been afraid that Jonathan was so closed off that it would be difficult for him to love someone else, or to be loved by someone else. And that's what I want for him, to fall in love and have another person in his life who cares so much about him. And you do." Nancy feels like she might cry. 

"So," Joyce continues, "I wanted you two to still have a date night. Jonathan was looking forward to it all week."

Nancy smiles, blushing a little. "Thank you for doing this. I was looking forward to it too."

###

"...he loved the swings at the park. We would go every Thursday morning and he never wanted to leave!" 

Joyce is showing Nancy photos of Jonathan as a little boy when they see headlights outside. He's home. Nancy looks at the photo of a tiny boy in a blue hat, giggling and waving his arms as Joyce swings with him. "Look at him! That little hat!" Nancy and Joyce are fawning over photos of toddler Jonathan when the front door opens, and they hear the 17-year-old's voice. 

"Mom? I'm home. Has Nancy called?" He walks in to the dining room...and finds the two women who are most important to him looking at his baby pictures.  _ Oh my God.  _ Jonathan knows he's blushing. He catches Nancy's eyes just as she holds up a photo.

"Jonathan! You are dressed in a bear costume! Look at this adorable tiny bear cub!" She has the biggest smile on her face he's ever seen. "He wore that everywhere when he was two," Joyce tells her, looking adoringly at her older son. "The grocery store, the park, the library. Everywhere we went. He was so sad when his bear outfit didn't fit anymore."

Jonathan looks embarrassed, but is also giving Nancy that crooked smile she loves so much. Joyce sets the photo album aside and leaves the table. 

He notices that the table is set for two, and that his mother is making a lot of noise in the kitchen.

"So, this is ready, and there's iced tea in the refrigerator. I picked up some movies, and there are extra blankets in the hallway closet if you need another one on the bed." Joyce notices the stunned look on Jonathan's face when she brings a bowl of pasta in to the dining room.

She turns to Jonathan, her hands on his arms. "Have fun.  _ Be safe _ . I'm going out for the evening."

Joyce hugs Jonathan, and then Nancy, telling her something he can't make out. "Bye! See you later! Call Hop if you need to get a hold of me." 

Jonathan's still giving Nancy that look when she walks over to him, pulling him to her for a kiss. "She wanted to surprise us and make sure we still had a date night. Something about her son looking forward to it all week."

He puts his arms around Nancy, holds her close.  _ I just saw her yesterday and I've missed her.  _ He's smiling when Nancy looks up at him, a full, beautiful smile. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

Nancy giggles when Jonathan pulls the chair out for her. "Such a gentleman!," she tells him.

###

It's just after midnight when Joyce gets home. Jonathan is sitting on the couch in his pajamas, looking at a magazine. "Hey," Jonathan says. "Nancy's asleep but I wasn't tired yet."

He hugs Joyce, who is gazing at him lovingly.  _ When was the last time he smiled like that?  _ "Thank you for doing this."

She moves her hands to his face, looking him in the eyes. "I'm so happy that you're happy."


End file.
